Slack-adjuster.



STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. SAUVAGE, 013 FLUSHNG, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESN E ASS[GNMENTS,

T0 GOULD COUPLER QOMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SLACK-ADJUSTER.

Specfication cf Letters Patent.

Patehted Mar. 25, 1919.

Application filed Januar 31, 1918. Serial No. 214,686.

T0 all wfiom it may concem:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM I-I. SAUVAGE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Flushing, Long Island, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented certain neW and useful Improvements inSlackAdjusters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to slack adjusters, partioularly adapted to take up the slack due to Wear of the parts of the brake rigging associated With locomotive trucks.

One of the obj ects of the present invention is to provide an automatic slack adjuster for the pony trucks of a locomotive which may be easily applied to the trucks now in use. Another object is to provide an apparatus of the above character of simple and practical construction and having relatively feW arts which Will be inexpensive to manuaoture and assemble. A further object is to provide an automatic slack adjuster of the first above mentioned type of compact arrangement and adapted to be positioned at either side of the truck and operate uniformly by a single source of power.

Other objects Will be in part obvious from the annexed drawings and in part indicated in connection therewith by the following analysis of this invention.

This invention accordingly consists in the several features of construction, combination of parts and in the unique relations of the members and in the relative proportioning and disposition thereof; all as more completely outlined herein.

T0 enable others skilled in the art so fully to comprehend the underlying eatures thereof that they may embody the same by the numerous modifications in structure and relation contemplated by this invention, drawings depicting a preferred form have been annexed as a part of this disclosure, and in such drawings, like characters of reference denote corresponding parts through ont all the views, of which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of such parts of a locomotive pony truck and the associated brake rigging as are necessary to understand the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of one half of the brake rigging, the other half being similar thereto;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional elevational view of some of the parts shown in Fig. 2, taken substant1ally along the line 3-3, Fig. 2.

Referring 110W to the drawing in detail and more particularly to Fig. 1, 5 denotes the Wheels of the pony trucks adapted to be engaged by brake shoes 6 carried by heads 7. These heads are actuated by live and dead levers 8 and 10 respectively, the dead levers at each side of the truck being connected by means of a link 11 supported from an air pressure cylinder 12, While the live levers are each connected by means of an auxiliary link 13 to a cross link 14 pivotally connected with a spring returned piston 15 of the usual. cylinder 12. These levers are supported in any desired manner from the truck framing, not shown.

The tWo brake shoe heads 7 at each side of the truck are connected by means of a slack adjuster. This includes a telescopic take up rod or push rod. One part 16 is of tubular construction and is pivotally connected at 17 with one end of the dead lever 10, While the other part 18 is solid and telescopes therewith. This member 18 is pivot ally connected at 20 With the free end of live lever 8.

The tubular member 16 is provided near one end with an enlarged chamber or housing 21 carrying a plurality of permanent take up and holding devices such as dogs .22, each of Which consists of a rectangular piece of sheet metal having a central opening with case hardened edges through Which the take up rod 18 is adapted to pass. It Will be noted that these dogs are held against any material endwise movement by a restricted portion of the housing as clearly shown in Fig. 1 and are normally held in canted position by means of a spring 23 coiled about the rod and reacting against one end of the chamber. This case may be provided, if desired, With a suitable unlock The autmatic extension of the telescopic push rod is obtained by means of an adjist ing rod 24., one end of Which is fixed or permanentlysecured to a casting 25 pivoted at the point of connection between the brake the point of connection 27 between the lever and its associated head. Intermediate the casting26 and the adjusting rod 24; is a the slack adjuster at each operation unless temporar y take up device, preferably in the form ofa friction springclamp 28 adapted to coact With the rod With a suflicient degree of pressure tocause a longitudinal eX- tension of the push rod When it is -necessary permanently to take up the slack due to the vvear of the parts. This clamp 28 normally moves back and forth with an inclosure 29 formedin the casting 26 without operating there is slack to be taken up.

Due to therelative location of the adjustingrod2: and the take np rod 16, it Will be seenthat when abnormal piston travel takes place due to the vvear of the parts and particularly the shoes, the friction spring clamp 28 Which is of less Width than the distance betweenthe ends of inclosure 29 ofthe casting 26, for the purpose of providing certain lost motionfor brake shoe clearance, it Will be moved alongthe adjusting rod 24 an amount corresponding to this eXcess travel, thus occupying a difierent relative position after the brakes are applied. When the braking povver is -released the brake shoe first drops clear of the wheels, as provided for by the lost motion after which thefriction clamp engages the left hand side of the bifurcated part or inclosnre 29 -of the cast- 4 ing 26 which thereafter actsas a fulcrum so that the 'complete .return movement of the live lever to normal positionunder the action et the cylinder spring Will cause an extension et the take up rod a corresponding amo'unt.

It is believed from the above that the construction, operation and method of use ofadevice or apparatus of this character Will be 'clear. The apparatns is ntirely automatic in its operation and Will take up the slackduring the normal applications o-f thebrakes as snob slack develops, no matter how slight. VVhen it is necessary to apply new shoes, the holding means or doge "Within the" housing are released,- as explained in my prior patent, for example, and a bar is inserted between the shoe and vvheel to force the parts of the take up push rod back into telescopic relation. NeW shoes may then be applied and a single application of the brakes Will move all of the parts to' adjnsted position without further manipulation.

' It is thus Seen that the p1tsentinvntion proVides a simple and practical Slak adjuster adapted to insure uniform piston travel and automaticallytake up the -s'lack as it develops in a practical and reliable Witliout further analysis, the -foregoing Wlll se fully revealthe gist of this invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily 'adapt it for various applica-' tionswithont omitting certain features that, from the standpoint of the priorart, -fairly constitute essential charaoteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and therefore such adaptations shonld and are intended .to be coniprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination With a locomotive truck, an air brake cylinder mounted on the truck, live and dead levers associatedwith adapted -to automatically take up the slack on application of the brakes, said slack adjnster including a two-part longitudinally.

extensible pus'h rod c0nnecting said levers and a two-part frictional yielding-adjusting rod connectingsaid levers.

2. In an apparatus of-the chairacter described, in combination With a locomotive truck, a power cyhnder, an automatic slack adjuster at each side thereofadapted t0 coact with the wheels of the truck at'each side of the cylinder, and two pairs of live and dead levers connected With the cylinder -for applying the brakes supporting the slack adjuster.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination with a locomotive truck, power means monnted upon thetruck between the opposite pairs of wheels, live and dead levers direetl conhected withopposite ends of said means, brake shoes carried by said live and dead levers coacting with the wheels, and an automatic slack adjuster connected with the live and dead levers adapted to take up the slack .dueto wear of the parts.

4-. In an apparatus scribed, incombination with a locomotive truck, power means mounted upon the truck between the opposite pairs Of wheels, live and dead levers directly connected with opposite ends of said means, brake shoes car-.

of the Character de- '90 said cylinder, and a slack adjuster at eaclr side of the truckconnected therebetweeh and holding means associated therewith, and adjusting means adapted to actuate the telescopic rod on release of the brakes.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination With a locomotive truck, an air brake cylinder, a pair of wheels at each side, live and dead levers at each side directly connected with opposite ends of said cylinder, brake shoes carried by said live and dead levers coacting With the wheels, automatic slack adjusters connected with the live and dead levers, adapted to take up the slack due to wear of the parts, each slack adjuster comprising an extensible push rod connecting the ends of one pair of the live and dead levers, and holding means adapted to permit an effective change in length thereof in one direction only, and an adjusting rod connected with said live and dead levers adjacent their point of connection With the brake shoes adapted to actuate said push rod when said brakes are released.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination With the pony truck frame of a locomotive, two pairs of horizontally disposed live and dead levers supported from said frame, a power cylinder carried by said rame and connected with said levers, brake shoes carried by said live and dead levers, and slack adjusters positioned between each pair of live and dead levers, said slack adjusters including permanent take up and holding mechanisms and a two-part extensible adjusting rod, the parts of said adjusting rod having a lost motion yielding frictional connection With each other.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination with the pony truck frame of a locomotive, two pairs of horizontally disposed live and dead levers supported from said frame, brake shoes carried by said live and dead levers, slack adjusters positioned between the ends of each pair of live and dead levers, each slack adjuster comprising a telescopic push rod and an adjusting rod for actuating the same.

8. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination with the pony truck trame of a locomotive, two pairs of horizontally disposed live and dead levers supported from said frame, brake shoes carried by said levers, and a slack adjuster positioned at each side of the truck between the live and dead levers, said slack adjuster comprising a telescopic push rod connected with said live and dead levers, and an adjusting rod associated therewith, said adjusting rod being pivotally supported at its ends from the live and dead levers and provided With a friction clamp adapted to yield on application of the brakes and to actuate the push rod to take up the slack on release of the brakes.

9. In combination with the pony truck frame of a locomotive, an air brake cylinder mounted on the truck frame, brake levers extending horizontally from each side of said cylinder to the wheels at the opposite sides of the truck, an automatic slack adjuster mechanism associated with said levers adapted to automatically take up the slack on application of the brakes.

10}. In combination with the pony truck frame of a locomotive, a pair of wheels at each side of said frame, an air brake cylinder mounted on the truck frame centrally with respect to said wheels, oppositely and horizontally extending dead levers connected With one end of said cylinder, oppositely and horizontally extending live levers connected With the piston of said cylinder, brake shoes carried by said levers adapted to coact With the adjacent surfaces of the wheels and automatic slack adjuster mechanism associated with said levers adapted automatically to take up the slack due to wear of the brake shoes.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in the presence of a witness.

WILLIAM H. SAUVAGE.

Witness G. H. Dmrz.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 013 Patents, Washington, 1). G. 

